Embracing the Bitter Mercy
by Oblivion's Edge
Summary: Morgan usually manages to get out of her encounters with Daedra pretty well. Not this time. Molag Bal might really have been the wrong Prince to mess with. Now there is only one way out for her. - Non canon, random idea. Oneshot.


A/N: Been a while since I uploaded anything. This is just a random idea I had the other day, decided to write it as a warm up. I would like to point out again that this story isn't canon. So don't worry, Morgan's still fine and somewhat sane.

And as always, I only own the character Morgan, and the idea for this story. Everything else belongs to Bethesda.

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This did not go the way she planned. More like this couldn't have gone any worse. She knew that one day she would most likely pay horribly for messing with the Daedra. But she always thought that someone would find out about her dealings with them and declare her a worshiper. Executing her because of it. Either that or her pissing off Vile so much that he personally tears her to smithereens. Perhaps even being ambushed by some worshipers of Azura, knowing well that Prince still held a grudge against the Khajiit. This however was not how she thought it would end. True it's her own fault, she wanted to mess with one of the Princes again. But this one did not give her any chance to do anything. And now here she was, imprisoned by no other than the Prince of Domination.  
She had heard of a shrine and went there to see whether she could trick him the same way she did with Azura. Sadly she didn't even get the chance to try, for as soon as she arrived she ran straight into a trap. It has been a few days since then, Molag had commanded her to do his bidding, but Morgan refused. In truth, the job he had in mind for her wasn't even something so terrible that she wouldn't want to do it. But her stubbornness didn't allow her to just submit to him. There were not many Daedra she didn't like, but there was none she loathed as much as Molag Bal. Morgan was stubborn and wild, she would not willingly submit to anyone, even if it meant her death. So here she was now, trapped like a rat, being taunted each day by the fearsome deity. But she refused to give up, spiting insults at the Prince with every chance she got, showing she would not back down.

The torture went on and on, even if Molag was not there to torture her physical form, he would taunt and scream at her. She could feel him trying to dig into her mind. Telling her of all the horrible things he would do to her in Coldharbour. She was starving, thirsty, and whenever she fell asleep she would find herself in Molag's clutches, waking up in pure terror. She didn't know whether she had those dreams because of her situation, or if perhaps Molag was getting assistance from Vaermina. In any way, sleep was no comfort, and only lead her closer to breaking. At this point she wanted to cry out for help, but to whom? She was never a big fan of the Divines, calling out to them didn't make any sense now. What about Hircine? With the blood of the beast in her veins she was considered one of his children. But her soul was now free from his grasp, if he would help her, would her soul belong to him again? This would make the hard battle for her freedom pointless. Then again, she would prefer the Hunting Grounds over Coldharbour any time. But would Hircine even care enough to try and save her? Somehow she doubted that. Her mind briefly wandered to Clavicus, but as soon as it did she already saw him laughing his ass off at her situation. With their relationship there was no way even Barbas could convince his Lord to help her. This left her with only one option...

Her fate seemed sealed, she doesn't even know how much time passed, she only knew that she won't survive for much longer. At this point, even if she surrendered, Molag would not let her escape anymore. He was dead set on sending her to Coldharbour, and he made sure she knew that. With a deep sigh she let the realization sink in that her life on Nirn was over. But she would not let Molag win. With a sad smile she sent a mental goodbye to the person she is, and slowly she let her mind sink into that one safe space. A gift she received from another Prince, a safe haven that would save her from any situation, for a price.  
At least she managed to confuse the taunting Prince, for that's exactly what he was when she started singing. And it wasn't just any mortal song, but a mess of random sentences that didn't seem to make any sense at all.

_Strip them off the shining skin, and tie it to a tree. For if it turns into a dragon, the bears will dance and sing. And at the feast of brooms and cups the pine won't stay in place. When the king's boot announces the chase, the fish will take the land._

She kept at it for hours, never repeating the lines, just adding stranger ones. Molag only grew more irritated with her, shouting louder and even more horrible threats than before. But her mind was somewhere else, far away where all his shouts exploded into colors. It took a while, but slowly she was completely loosing awareness of her surroundings, her mind entirely slipping in that little pocked inside her psyche. A place where nothing mattered anymore, and she felt happy as she continued singing her mad song, feeling almost as if someone else sang it with her. Now whatever the Prince tried only made her laugh, a horrible bitter laugh, like that of someone who had completely lost their mind. He saw his mistake as soon as that realization hit him. Not wasting any more time with taunting he used his powers to rip the stubborn cat into pieces and tear out her soul. He leered victoriously at the little soul in his claws, yet the moment was short lived as it slipped from his grasp, vanishing. At that he heard a jolly voice scolding him in his mind, and he screamed in anger. Cursing at both, the Khajiit, and his mischievous brother. Now that soul was forever out of his reach, for it has fled to the Isles. Where all insane souls go.

Her mind was a total blur, the only thing she could make out was the sound of someone chuckling. She opened her eyes and at first she only saw a colorful mist, then she was in a palace, sitting at a table. Across from her sat no other than the Madgod himself.

_Time to wake up sleepy head! I see you've met ol' Molag._

At first she just stared blankly at the demented Prince. As if she didn't even realize he was there. Then she suddenly jumped onto the table and shouted.

_He was uuuuuuuuuuugly!_

_And he smells, doesn't he? He needs to eat more cheese!_

Sheogorath shouted back and jumped onto his chair, starting to dance. Morgan then looked around, seeming disoriented. All the time her eyes remained wide open, as if she was seeing things others couldn't.

_Where am I?_

Her voice barely above a whisper.

_Don't you remember lass? It's the Isles of course!_

_The Isles?_

_The one and only!_

_The Isles!_

She shouted again and they both started laughing. Her mind was nothing but a blur of colors, she shouted and laughed without any reason, her emotions scattered like marbles. She started singing again and spun in circles until she lost balance and fell. Yet before she hit the ground she was caught by Sheogorath. She was almost lying on air while he held her up, and they were silent, just staring into each other's eyes. Her expression didn't change, as if she was not actually noticing anything that was happening around her. Sheogorath spoke then, yet the merriment in his voice now had a slightly bitter tone.

_I am glad you liked my gift. I told you it will help you get out of any trouble... Or get into any trouble. Both? Yes, definitely both._

_It is a mercy in the end._

She spoke in a weak voice. The Prince just chuckled.

_Yes, a bitter mercy._


End file.
